Description
Exam 1 SG
Friday, February 9, 2018 11:17 AM
What is culture?
• 19th century: synonym to (western) civilization (high society, worldly) • Current definitions
○
Learned meaning systems that are passed on from one generation to the next and are shared to varying degrees (ting-toomey & chung)
▪ Learn by example
▪ Learn norms (told or observe, or by trial and error)
▪ Learn through socialization
○ Enculturation (process of learning your culture)
○ Historically transmitted pattern of meaning embodied in symbols (geertz) ▪ Representations of your culture (cross necklace, etc)
▪ Opposition to (high culture) is pop culture (popular) (the mass like it)
▪
People from the same group will share symbols and recognize it as a indication of that group If you want to learn more check out What do I mean, if I say hospitality products are intangible?
▪ Derive meaning from those symbols
○
Accumulated pattern of values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by an identifiable group of people with a common history and verbal and nonverbal symbol system (neuliep) ▪ Verbal (language) nonverbal (icons, symbols) If you want to learn more check out roger nichols utc
• Functions and elements of culture
○ To teach people how to adapt to the world around them Don't forget about the age old question of art 382 class notes
▪ Blueprint for behavior
○ Culture is composed of numerous elements
▪ Worldview, religion, history, values, social organization, and language
▪ Symbols, rituals, values, and heroes
▪ Tells you info about the things that culture values
- The iceberg of culture
• Ice burg of culture
○ Tip
▪ Food
▪ Music
▪ Language'visual arts
▪ Festivals
▪ Literature
▪ Holiday customs
▪ Performing arts
▪ Flags
▪ Games
▪ Dress
○ Hidden
▪ Nature of friendship
▪ Values
▪ Rules
▪ Body language
▪ Religious beliefs
▪ Etiquette
▪ Notions of beauty
▪ Notions of self
▪ ETC ETC ETC
- Possible relations between communication and culture Don't forget about the age old question of exercise science usc
○ Culture is communication, and communication is culture
○ Culture is a variable that influences communication (the social science perspective)
○
Culture permits the creation of values, beliefs, and behaviors through communication (the interpretive approach) If you want to learn more check out nupture
- What counts as Non-Western cultures and examples
Worldviews
- Definitions
• How do worldviews relate to cultures
○ Worldviews are part of the deep structures of a culture
▪ Need to understand the symbols that represent different worldviews ○ The substructures on which cultures are built (hiebert, 2008).
○
Big core behaviors can relate back to worldviews (fundamental elements of the human existence)
○ The way a man, in a particular society, see himself in relation to all else (redfield 1961) ▪ individual
○
Basic assumptions and images that provide a more or less coherent, though not necessarily accurate, way of thinking about the world (kearney 1984) ▪ Collective, subjective, could be individual
▪ Skewed
- Functions of Worldviews
• To provide us with reality maps
○ A way of interpreting the world around us
• To give us emotional security
○ Psychological comfort
• To validate our cultural norms
• To help us integrate our culture
• To monitor how our culture changes
• To provide us with psychological reassurance
COMM 2003 Page 1
• To provide us with psychological reassurance Don't forget about the age old question of five fallacies of racism
○ When everything is in crisis gives you reassurance of belonging
- Three dimensions of worldviews and their characteristics
• Cognitive dimension: deep assumptions about the nature of reality ○ Mental categories and logic used to explain reality
• Affective dimension: assumptions about feelings and emotions
○ Shape feelings and provide emotional support
• Evaluative dimension: assumptions that give rise to social and moral norms ○ Virtues, standards, morals, manners
- Young's seven questions for examining worldviews
○ Answers to each of the seven questions for each of the worldviews studied in class
Worldviews
What does it mean to be human?
What is the basic human problem?
What is the cause of the problem?
What is the end goal of transformation?
What are the means of transformation?
What is the nature of reality?
What is sacred, and how may it be known?
Hinduism
Law of Karma,
karmic selves
Desires and
attachment
(sensual and
material)
Desire and
Ignorance
Liberation from the cycle of rebirth
Dharma (duty to pursue liberation) Social Dharma (to avoid chaos)
The cycle of rebirth (samsara)
Reality of the spiritual, Religion of the Vedas (sacred text)
Theravada Buddhism
No permanence, no eternal self
The first noble truth (Dukkha)
Second noble
truth (Tanha)
Third noble truth (Nirvana)
The fourth noble truth (8-fold path of middle way)
Impermanence
Atheistic religion, no central role for gods (Nirvana is Spiritual)
Daoism
imitation of the
cosmos, balance
between yin and
yang
Disharmony
Restless spirit
Harmony
Veneration,
Worship, Divination, Virtue (de), & Filial piety (Xiao)
Yin and Yang
Harmony and Order
Confucianism
Humans are
embedded in a web of relationships
Social chaos (of the Warring
States period)
Fail to live
virtuous lives, Fail to follow social roles
Right pattern of
human relationship
Balance between inner (Nei) and
outer (Wai) virtues
Reality is relational Making the Dao great and Ancestor veneration
Shintoism
The people of the kami, Humans are naturally good; like mirrors
Pollution (Tsumi) Lack of reverence for the kami
Harmony is the
ultimate goal
Participation in
rituals
The land of the kami
Eight million kami,
Anything/anyone can be kami
Indigenous
Humans are part of a broad spiritual family (all beings); humans are not superior
Living out of
balance
forgetfulness and individualism
maintain and restore harmony
respecting spiritual patterns
Traditional
rhythmic and
cyclical view of
time, Sacred
spaces
Everything is spiritual
○
Value Orientations
- Definitions of value orientations
○ Patterned principles that provide answers to common human problems
○ Patterned principles referring to the 5 orientations (questions/problems in cultures)
○
There is a limited number of common human problems for which people must find solutions
○ Solutions are variable within a range (so not at random)
○ All alternatives are present within all cultures, but some are culturally preferred
▪
○ TABLE
Basically not everyone in one place will have the same orientation but there is a tendency
What is the character of innate human nature? (human nature orientation)
What is the relationship between humans and nature? (man-nature (supernature) orientation)
What is the temporal (time related) focus of human life? (Time orientation)
What is the modality of human life? (the activities humans engage in) (Activity orientation)
▪
Good
(mutable/immutable) (at their core humans are
good)
□
Mutable= can be
changed
immutable=cannot
be changed
□
Ex. Humans are good
at their core and that
does not change OR
humans are good at
their core and that
never changes
▪ Mastery over nature
□
Humans are superior to
nature
□
Humans have the
ability/privilege to gain
power from nature,
change nature, control
nature
Ex. See a river and
◆
build a dam or
change its course
Industrialized
◆
societies are
examples of this
behavior
▪Orientation towards the past□
The past has an
important role on how
we live and organize our
life
◆
Look to ancestors
for guidance
□
The past informs us of
how we should behave
Traditions and
◆
rituals important
Look to what has
◆
been before us as
the model of
influence for our
behaviors
▪ Doing orientation
□ Do things that bring success □ Tangible results and outcomes ◆
Ex. Resume is a list of
your accomplishments
What is the modality of people's relationship to other people? (Relational orientation)
▪ Lineal
□ Ancestry (lineage)
□
We relate with others based on our ancestry
◆
Ex. Important to monarchies
□
Based on family name people know who you are (where you grow up, etc)
▪
Evil (mutable/immutable)
▪Harmony with nature
▪
Orientation towards the
▪ Being orientation
▪ Collateral orientation
(at their core humans are
□
Humans try to live in
present
□
Focuses on enjoyable
□ Interdependence
○
evil)
balance with the natural
□ Focus is on the now
pleasurable activities
◆
Who you are is an integral
environment around us
◆
Carpe diem (seize
◆
Have fun, just be, take
part of the groups you
◆ ◆
Build around, plant but not too much Indigenous
worldview are
the moment)
□
the time to "smell the
□
roses"
More present oriented (in
terms of time orientation)
belong to
Your identity is defined by relationship to other ◆ Connect with others
examples of this
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□ Focus on the now and the
examples of this behavior
□
Focus on the now and the activities you are doing ◆ ENJOY THE NOW
▪Good-and-evil
□
Neutral (mutable)
(we have balance but
we can go off that
balance)
□
Combination
(immutable)
▪ Subjugation to nature
□
Nature is the all-powerful
and humans are inferior/at the mercy of nature
□
Whatever nature can do
there is nothing we can do
◆
Members adjust
accordingly to the
fact that they can't
beat or dominate
nature
▪
Orientation towards the
future
□
When we think about
time we think about
what is to come
◆
Ex. In college now
so that at the end
we will get a job
(investing in our
future)
◆
Planning,
calendar,
investments
▪ Being-in-becoming orientation□
Focuses on the spiritual
aspects of yourself
□
The activities that you engage in are supposed to be ones
that allows you to progress & grow
□
Stresses the idea of centering your activities so that you
grow as a person
◆
Ex. In everyday life
investing in yourself as
an individual
▪ Individualistic orientation
□ Focuses on you, the individual
◆
Being unique, standing out
□
Cultivating the traits that set you apart from others
◆
- Common human problems that lead to value orientations
○ Possible responses for each problem
Hofstede's cultural dimensions
- Hofstede's definition of culture
You, your goals, your aspirations
○
Culture = "the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others " (Hofstede, 2001, p 9)
- The development of the dimensions
○ The IBM study
○ IBM employees from 40 countries, between 1967 and 1973
○ Attitude surveys to determine the relationship between one's values and one's culture ▪ Based on the responses 4 dimensions were created
- Four cultural dimensions
○
For each dimension know the definition, the key differences between the two poles on the dimension, and be able to recognize characteristics of each dimension in applied situations
○ POWER DISTANCE
○
The extent to which members of a culture accept the unequal distribution/inequality of power (status hierarchy, age, organizational hierarchy, education □ Focus is on relationship between people of different status
○ Two poles of a dimension
□ High power distance cultures
◆ You respect the power distance, you don't contradict those in power □ Low power distance cultures
◆ Individuals will treat everyone about the same
◆
Power doesn't define the relationships, focusing on equality between individuals
◆ USA has 40. Panama has 95!! Wooah ○ Key differences
Low power distance
High power distance
Parents & children: relationship of equality
Relationship of obedience
Legitimate power: expertise they have
Coercive/reference power: comes from the position, and can make others do things (listen to what I say)
Decentralized decision-making
Centralized decision
making (hierarchy pyramid, decisions get passed down, lowest people execute decisions not make them)
Small number of supervisors
Large number of
supervisors
Subordinates consulted
Subordinates told what to do
□
○ INDIVIDUALISM VS COLLECTIVISM
○ Two poles of a dimension
□ Individualism: loose ties between individuals, everyone looks after one's self
□
Collectivism: strong cohesive in-groups which protect individuals in exchange for their loyalty
○ Scores for dimensions rated on a 0-100 scale
□ Hofstede-insights.com (CHECK COUNTRY'S SCORE) ◆ USA has a 91 for individualism
○ Key differences (not everyone does this, tendency, the average)
Individualism
Focus on independence
Focus on "I"
Ingroup and outgroup communication are similar (ex. polite even to strangers)
Collectivism
Focus on interdependence Focus on "we"
ingroup communication is not equal to outgroup
communication (ex. Outgroup does not get the same
treatment)
Privacy is valued One is never alone (privacy
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Privacy is valued One is never alone (privacy doesn't manifest itself) (not
□
uncommon to share
everything)
Equity-based rewards
Low context communication (direct, spell it out) (ex. I am cold (literally just means they are cold and no expectations for you to do anything)
Equality-based rewards
High context communication (all about the contextual cues, implicit, you have to figure out the meaning based on what has been said or not been said) (ex. I am cold (bring a blanket for the person))
◆
Equity means we are distributing (rewards) based on how much you deserve depending on how much you put in (rewards are proportional to the input) (you get what you put in)
◆
Equality - everybody gets the same amount (rewards) regardless of what they put in
○ MASCULINITY VS FEMININITY
○ The distribution of gender roles within a culture
□ Sex is the BIOLOGY and gender is the IDENTITY
□ How do individuals positions themselves in society based on gender roles ○ Two poles of dimension
□ Masculine cultures
◆ Masculine traits are valued
◆ The workplace
□ Feminine cultures
◆ family
□ The higher the score the more masculine
◆ USA is a 62! Sweden is a 5!!
◆ People, regardless of gender, will endorse these values
○ Key differences
High femininity (low M)
High masculinity (low F)
Weak gender differentiation (not an emphasis on who wears blue/pink, jobs aren't made for just ONE gender)
Strong gender differentiation (occupations designed for men/women ex. Welder/nurse)
Work to live (work just enough so you can live, you have a job but time is more for family, and enjoying yourself, more vacation time, 36 hrs of work a week)
Live to work (you live in order to work, workaholism, work is center of your living, 60 hrs of work a week)
Preference for fewer work hours
Preference for higher pay
Stress on equality, nurture, quality of life
Stress on equity, competition, performance
Shared parental roles
Differentiated parental roles
□
○ UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
○ The degree to which members of a culture try to avoid uncertainty ○ Two poles of a dimension
□ High uncertainty avoidance cultures
◆ Does not accept uncertainty
□ Low uncertainty avoidance cultures
◆ Tolerates uncertainty
◆ USA has a 46 on uncertainty (Greece is a 100!)
○ Key differences
□
○
Abbott - Flatland
Low avoidance
High avoidance
Children exposed to the unknown (take risks!)
Children shielded from the unknown
Different = curious
Different = dangerous
Few rules
Many rules and rituals (so you know how to behave)
Tolerance for ambiguity
Fear of ambiguity
Dissent is accepted
Strong desire for consensus
Acceptance of foreigners (strangers, visitors, NEW)
Suspicion of foreigners
- Main cultural implications of the novel
Samovar et al. - the Maasai
- What the Maasai regard as valuable
- Traditional African, oral, culture
- Values:
○ Children: family continuity; assistance for elderly
○ Cattle: sustenance, respect, ritualistic animal
○ Groups: centrality of family and life-stage groups
○ Elders: respect and deference to elders who are perceived to be wise
Pride: virtues of obedience, honesty, wisdom, and fairness
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○ Pride: virtues of obedience, honesty, wisdom, and fairness
- The Maasai worldview
- Nature: held in highest regard;
○ Interaction with the elements; coexistence
○ Cannot be changed although it changes without intervention
- Religion: direct relationship with God, who exists in everything in nature
- Death
○ Return to earth, in a circular and mutually beneficial relationship with nature COMM 2003 Page 5